It isn't easy to retire after 30 years of running an art gallery that has been a longstanding fixture in the Buffalo community.
But father-and-son artists William and Hugh Jennings quietly closed the doors of the Hitching Post Gallery earlier this month.
The gallery been a popular place for residents and tourists to check out and buy the works of area artists.
And if customers also wanted books, gifts, and tobacco products, the gallery sold them, too.
While William stepped away a few years ago, Hugh decided recently it was also time for him to retire.
At the beginning of May, they took down the wooden signs of the Hitching Post and locked the doors for the last time.
“Time is the most elusive and precious thing,” Hugh said. “I just decided that I had a lot more things that I wanted to do with my art, and I was in a position that we could sell the gallery and I could do that without having any regrets.”
Gallery Opens
In the early 1990s, William, a wood carver who mainly focused on wild animals and carousel horses, approached his son about the possibility of opening an art gallery.
Hugh, a sculptor specializing in Western and sporting pieces, came on board and the two found the perfect building that had been a part of the town since 1897.
“There were a lot of empty buildings around Buffalo, and we thought, ‘What the heck?’ Hugh said. “So we brought in some friends that were artists and showed their work. We had a good variety of mediums and art styles, usually Western and wildlife.”
Opened in November 1993 on Main Street just south of Crazy Woman Square, the Hitching Post Art Gallery showcased work from many area artists, along with a large selection of gifts and books, and cigars and tobacco.
While art remained their primary focus, they sold “a little bit of everything over the years.” In the mid-'90s, they added cigars and pipe tobacco, and then got into some specialty gifts.
“In a small town with seasonal visitors, we decided right away we needed to do something so we could stay open 12 months a year and appeal to more of a regional or local clientele, instead of just the visitors to Wyoming,” Hugh said.
Every year, William and Hugh would just walk through the other stores downtown and see what they had.
"And then we'd make sure whatever we got was different, so that the people walking around downtown weren't seeing the same things in every store,” Hugh added.
The strategy also allowed them to become familiar with the other stores' inventory so if someone came looking for something the Hitching Post didn’t offer, they could direct them somewhere that did.
“That was our main goal, to get people what they want without them going to the internet or to a bigger city,” he said.
Early on, Hugh joked that the family partnership worked because they rarely saw each other. He was once asked how he got along with his dad all day long and responded, “Well, it's really easy. I come in at 8. He comes in about 10:30 and I leave for lunch, I come back about 2, he goes home and then I close up at 5.”
Things Get Busy
Originally owning the gallery allowed them time to work on their artwork as well, but as it became established and more people moved to the area things changed.
“I know I produced a lot more sculptures in the '90s and early 2000s than I have in the last five years,” Hugh said. “We really got busy with the influx of people during COVID.
"The new people coming in wanted to decorate and make it look like they'd lived here forever with all the local art.”
William, who turns 85 this fall, stepped away from the business about seven years ago, but he stays busy exploring nature and tending to his large garden.
Hugh said when his dad finally retired it wasn’t any harder, as he’d gotten used to the routine and staying busy.
“I enjoy being busy, so I didn't really have a problem with that at all,” he said. “But it's like four months a year are really busy up here, and then it's kind of quiet.”
Time To Step Away
Retirement from the gallery has been on Hugh’s mind for the past few years. When he committed to the decision, the goal was to close shop at the beginning of April.
The Hitching Post had accumulated a lot of stuff over 30 years, though, so it took about a month longer to get things liquidated.
“I may have to reevaluate my current collection of items at home so if I have to move again it’s not such a traumatic ordeal,” he joked.
Although they’d tried to buy it for years, the Jennings didn’t actually own the building. However, when it came time to sell their business, the building owners had decided they wanted to sell as well.
This ended up causing a problem because the people who were interested in purchasing the gallery stock couldn’t afford to purchase the building.
“We tried working with several of them and just couldn't get anything going, so we just started parting it out, and everything went in a different direction,” Hugh said. “The artists got their artwork back and half a dozen gift shops in town all took a portion of our gifts.
"Our cigars and tobacco we were able to sell to a local business to supplement their store,” Hugh added. “So we were able to keep everything in town.”
Hugh enjoyed working with clients from around the world and catching up with them whenever they visited the gallery, whether it be weekly or every five years.
“I'm really looking forward to doing my art and not being a slave to a schedule or a clock,” he said, “but I'll really miss all the relationships developed with clients and friends over the years through the gallery.
“I have a lot of customers that I know were really upset and really worried about us closing and not having a place to come and hang out for coffee, but everything changes whether we like it or not,” Hugh added.
He said the comaraderie of the daily impromptu coffee gatherings in the Hitching Post's back room will also be greatly missed.
“It was usually coffee, but at times a gourmet breakfast of varied components brought by attendees to enjoy while discussing area news,” he said. “On Friday afternoons the local retirees would gather, enjoying medicinal spirits and cigars to discuss local affairs and their ideas for solving the area/world problems.
"Their age, varied backgrounds along with some hearing loss gave for lively discussions at times, but all knew the gallery as neutral ground, so left as friends,” he added.
Closing Time
On the store’s last day, Hugh’s happiness for the next chapter outweighed the sadness for the one that was ending.
“I think I was probably more excited at the prospect of freedom in my life,” Hugh said. "We have so many recreational opportunities for people that love to fish and hunt and hike like I do.
"And so I'm just excited about the prospect of exploring those more and not having to be downtown 8-5 for six days a week,” he added, "and trying to squeeze my recreation into one day a week.”
Along with recreating outdoors and enjoying the view of the mountains from his porch, Hugh also plans to pursue his art more.
“I'm kind of excited to have the opportunity to get more art done, and then also to explore my painting more. I never signed any paintings, or ever tried to sell any paintings, and I really want to,” he said.
Before making sculptures again, however, he first needs to find a new foundry, as he’d previously cast at Caleco Foundry in Cody for more than 30 years until it burned down in 2024.
“It’s going to be an adjustment. When I said brown, Caleco knew what color my brown was, as opposed to other people's brown,” he said. “Now I’m going to have to learn how to communicate exactly what I want all over again.”
